Special Coverage

Gander climbs charts with Woodward finish

By picking up $100,000 for his second-place finish in the $500,000 Woodward on Sept. 7, Gander vaulted past Win to become the fifth richest New York-bred in history.

Gander, a 6-year-old gelding, has $1,473,688 in earnings, $66,478 more than Win, who in 1985 became the first New York-bred to earn $1 million.

Gander still has a lot to do to close the gap on Say Florida Sandy, the all-time leading New York-bred in money won with $1,915,355. Say Florida Sandy, who is still racing, is followed on the list by L'Carriere, Fourstardave, and Fourstars Allstar, who are all retired.

Gander, who won last year's Grade 2 Meadowlands Cup for his first graded win, has picked up checks in several Grade 1's but has never won one. When Gander had the lead in the stretch of the Woodward it appeared he finally would win a Grade 1, but Lido Palace wore him down in the final yards for a three-quarters of a length victory.

Gander, whose once gray and roan coat has turned nearly white with age, has become a poster horse for the New York-bred program. A son of the pensioned New York sire Cormorant, Gander has a record of 11-9-7 from 46 starts.

Bred by Angela Rugnetta, Gander is owned by brothers Ted and Mike Gatsas and trained by John Terranova.

Schwartz honored, twice

Owner and breeder Herbert T. Schwartz had an unexpected surprise in store for him when he was in Lexington, Ky., last week to receive an award from the Thoroughbred Owners and Breeders Association. Schwartz knew he would be the recipient of TOBA's regional award for New York's top breeder in 2001, but what he didn't know was that TOBA also selected him as the winner of the inaugural small breeder award, which is open to breeders from all over the country.

Schwartz bred and owns Grade 1 winner Critical Eye, a New York-bred who won an allowance at Belmont Park on Thursday.

Lycius sires winners worldwide

Lycius's first United States crop of 2-year-olds will not be seen until 2003, but the New York-based sire has been doing remarkably well with runners conceived when he stood stud in Ireland. During August, Lycius had 16 winners in six countries: England, Germany, Ireland, Italy, Turkey, and the U.S.

A 14-year-old son of Mr. Prospector, Lycius stands at Mill Creek Farm in Stillwater, just outside of Saratoga Springs. Owned by B. E. Stables, Lycius stood the 2002 breeding season for $7,500.

Signal Tap gets a stakes winner

Signal Tap, a third-crop sire standing in New York, was represented by his first stakes winner last Sunday at Del Mar when Got Koko won the Torrey Pines Stakes.

Signal Tap, a 11-year-old son of Fappiano, stands at Questroyal Stud in Hudson. His stud fee this year was $5,000. His progeny earnings exceed $1.9 million.

Through Aug. 31, Carl Lizza's Flying Zee Stable topped the list for the most money earned in breeder awards this year with $131,200. Roger Toffolon was next in line with $112,211. In owner awards, Cynthia Knight with $25,301 held a narrow lead. Paraneck Stable trailed by less than $50.

New features added to nybreds.com

A recently added feature on the New York State Thoroughbred Breeding and Development Fund's website - nybreds.com - is a list of leading jockeys and trainers with New York-breds.

Through the end of August, Shaun Bridgmohan led riders in purses won aboard New York-breds with more than $1.5 million. Richard Dutrow Jr. led trainers with $1,047,296. The top money-earning New York-bred in Dutrow's stable is Grade 1 winner Carson Hollow, who was scheduled to run in Saturday's Floral Park at Belmont.

o Fasig-Tipton's Midlantic yearling sale in Maryland on Sept. 30 and Oct. 1-2 will feature 174 registered New York-breds. Among the New York-based consignors with large consignments are Tom Gallo, Harry Landry, McMahon of Saratoga Thoroughbreds, and Dutchess Views.